Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Custard Bake

posted by Kalyn Denny on January 22, 2014

This tasty Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Custard Bake will help you eat your greens, and this delicious breakfast is low-carb, Keto, low-glycemic, gluten-free, meatless, and South Beach Diet friendly! Use the Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.

My food preferences have changed since I’ve been writing this blog, and one good change is the way I’ve developed such an appreciation for greens. I confess that before I started growing them in my garden, I never cooked much with Red Russian Kale, dark green curly kale, or Swiss chard. Now these uber-healthful greens have turned into something I love experimenting with every year when the garden is producing them, but I’ve also started buying greens from the store more often.

I’ve made a few different breakfast dishes with greens baked into the eggs, but this Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Custard Bake is a bit different, with a generous amount of goat cheese (the soft type that comes in a log) combined with milk and then mixed into just enough eggs to bind it together into a barely-firm custard. I loved the flavor combination with the Swiss chard, goat cheese, and other cheeses, and although you could certainly eat this for breakfast I’ve been eating it for a light dinner for the last couple of days.

This recipe was inspired by one I saw in Greene on Greens, a vegetable cookbook I bought used on Amazon.com for a few dollars after my nephew Jake recommended it. The book was first printed in 1984, and tastes have changed a bit since then. I lightened up the recipe quite a bit, switching olive oil for butter, using milk instead of heavy cream, and using lower-fat cheeses. I also left out the bread crumbs so I could eat this for phase one. Even with those changes this was creamy and delicious, something I’d eat a small slice of paired with something light on the side. And if you prefer you can certainly use the higher-fat alternatives to make this Keto!

To chop the Swiss chard leaves, pile up a bunch of them and slice one way. Then turn the cutting board and slice through the leaves the other way. If you’re using chard from the garden, give then a good wash in a salad spinner after you’ve chopped them and spin until they’re very dry. In a large frying pan, saute the onion in some olive oil until it’s just starting to brown. Then add the chopped Swiss chard all at once and use a large turner to keep turning it until all the chard has wilted. Cook the chard a couple of minutes, just until it’s wilted down like this; it will finish cooking in the oven. Turn off heat and let the chard cool a little.

I used the bowl attachment of the immersion blender to mix the milk and goat cheese, but you could let the cheese soften on the counter and mix it by hand. Beat the eggs with some salt and pepper. Then mix the goat cheese and milk mixture, mozzarella, and 2 T of Parmesan into the eggs. Stir in the wilted Swiss chard and onions. Pour the mixture into a round casserole dish that you’ve sprayed with olive oil or nonstick spray (or use a Springform Pan if you have one) and sprinkle the coarse ground Parmesan over the top. Bake at 350F/180C for about an hour, or until the mixture is completely set and lightly browned on top. (I tested with a toothpick to make sure the center was done.)

Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Custard Bake

This tasty Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Custard Bake will help you eat your greens!

Ingredients:

12 oz. Swiss chard leaves, chopped

1 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

5-6 oz. goat cheese (Use the soft goat cheese that comes in a log)

1/2 cup milk (I used 2% but lower fat would also work)

8 eggs

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated mozzarella or other low-fat mild cheese

2 T + 2 T grated Parmesan (preferably freshly grated)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

Remove swiss chard stems and save for another use. Pile up the swiss chard leaves in a stack and slice in 1/2 inch slices one way, then turn the cutting board and slice the other way to make chopped pieces of chard. (You will probably have to do this in a couple of batches.) If needed wash the chopped chard in a salad spinner and spin until it’s very dry.

Chop the onion into pieces about 1/4 inch.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (big enough to hold all the Swiss chard.) Add onion and saute 4-5 minutes on medium-high heat, just until the onions are barely starting to brown.

Then add Swiss chard, all at once. Use a large turner to turn the chard as it cooks until it’s all wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and let the chard cool slightly.

Combine the milk and goat cheese. (I did this with the bowl attachment of an immersion blender, but you can let the cheese soften and stir it together by hand.)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until the yolks and whites are all combined, then season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Stir the milk/goat cheese mixture into the eggs and then add the mozzarella and two tablespoons of the Parmesan. Add the chard and onions and stir so it’s well distributed in the egg mixture.

Spray a round casserole dish with olive oil or nonstick spray (or use a Springform Pan if you have one). Use a dish or pan that’s 8 or 9 inches in diameter.

Put the egg/chard mixture into the pan and top with the other two tablespoons of Parmesan.

Bake for one hour, or until the mixture is fully set and lightly browned on top.

Serve hot for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or a light dinner.

This will keep for several days in the fridge and can be reheated for a minute or two in a microwave.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
With a generous amount of leafy greens and using low-fat goat cheese, milk, and mozzarella, this recipe would be a good choice for any phase of the South Beach Diet, and it’s also perfect for other low-carb and low-glycemic eating plans. Other low-carb plans might prefer full-fat dairy products; take your choice.

Nutritional Information?
If you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you’re a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.